EPC of a preheater and an economizer for a Spanish distillery

In whiskey production, some distilleries use direct flame burners to provide the heat needed in the wash and spirit stills. Traditionally, the hot flue gases are vented to the atmosphere without harnessing their energy.

In 2024, a distillery in Scotland decided to explore the possibility of recovering this waste heat to improve the energy efficiency of its distillation process.

The solution implemented consisted of the installation of a combustion air preheater and a water economizer to maximize the use of waste heat.

The system designed by AITESA redirects the hot gases from the base of the stills to a heat exchanger, where the heat is transferred to the combustion air before being supplied to the burners, raising their temperature to 250-350°C. The gases then pass through an economizer, which heats a flow of process water from 80°C to 95°C, optimizing the plant’s thermal performance.

The installation of the system led to an improvement in overall thermal efficiency, achieving a reduction in gas consumption in the burners and a reduction in emissions, which translated into significant operational savings and a positive environmental impact.